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自腹を切る (じばらをきる) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
expression, godan verb (-ru)
pay out of one's own pocket ; foot the bill oneself
idiomatic expression
Idiomatic expression used when someone covers an expense personally, often in a business or group context where the cost might otherwise be shared or reimbursed.
かい
社しゃ
の
飲の
み
会かい
な
の
に
、
上じょう
司し
が
自じ
腹ばら
を
切き
っ
て
くれ
た
。
Even though it was a company drinking party, the boss footed the bill himself.
Written forms 自じ 腹ばら を 切き る
Standard kanji spelling for this idiomatic expression.
自じ 腹ばら をきる
Kana spelling of the verb part; less common but still seen.
Similar words 自じ 腹ばら 自腹 is the noun meaning 'one's own pocket' or 'one's own money'; 自腹を切る is the full idiomatic verb phrase.
割わ り 勘かん 割り勘 means splitting the bill equally among participants, while 自腹を切る implies one person bears the entire cost.
Etymology The phrase combines 自腹 (one's own belly/pocket) with 切る (to cut), metaphorically meaning to 'cut into one's own pocket' to pay. The exact origin is uncertain, but it likely derives from the image of reaching into one's own resources.
